VIEWPOINT: Is the U.S. Constitution Meaningful to You?

What does the Constitution mean to you? September 17 has come and gone, with minimal celebration of Constitution Day, which commemorated 236 years since 12 of 13 original states (Rhode Island didn’t send delegates) adopted the Constitution (September 17, 1787) at what would become known as the Constitutional Convention at Independence Hall, Philadelphia.

So that Americans could accept or reject the Constitution, America’s first government – the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” (created November 15, 1777; ratified February 2, 1781; ended March 4, 1789) – distributed copies of the Constitution for ratification by special state ratification conventions. The Founders wanted these special conventions and not state legislatures for ratification because legislatures were too political. The Constitution’s acceptance required ratification by nine states, which occurred with New Hampshire (June 21, 1788).

The Articles of Confederation government was dissolved, and the Constitutional government was implemented (March 4, 1789) in New York City. Massachusetts (ratified February 6, 1788), Virginia (June 25, 1788), and New York (July 26, 1788) ratified the Constitution only after linking their ratification to recommended amendments to be approved after the Constitution’s ratification. After the Constitutional government’s implementation, Virginia Congressman James Madison submitted 39 amendments. The states ratified numbers 3-12, which became the Constitution’s first ten amendments (“The Bill of Rights”) (December 15, 1791).

How many people know September 17th is Constitution Day or, more officially, since December 2004, that it was combined in an omnibus (budget) bill with Citizenship Day to become “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” (36 U.S. code § 106)?

More importantly, what does our treatment of Constitution Day say about our respect for this “Supreme Law of the Land” upon which rests our American identity as a “Nation of Laws” and not of men? The Constitution begins with “We the People,” so this document was created to belong to us. Therefore, (just a thought) are we Americans obligated to obey laws passed by legislators or judges that we know from reading the Constitution is unconstitutional?

Then we have our politicians who take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution… (and) bear true faith and allegiance…” Do they consider the Constitution in their governing? Or is the Constitution just a historical document to be skirted when politically necessary? How important is the Constitution, the “Supreme Law of the Land,” to politicians who combine Constitution Day with citizenship, which globalist Democrats also ignore, as witnessed by our open southern border? I also remember when a reporter asked then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, whether Obamacare was constitutional. She deflected the question with, “Are you kidding, are you kidding?” The reporter deserved a legitimate answer.

As an aside, why do Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to destroy “democracy,” but Democrats never mention the Constitution? What is their definition of democracy? The Founders didn’t intend to create a democracy but a Constitutional (representative) Republic. “Democracy” in Greek means “people power.” The Founders’ Constitution meant for the people to exercise their power through honest elections. Some countries, like North Korea, call themselves democratic republics, but the people’s power is expressed through a political party – the Communist Party. So, Democrats, what’s your meaning of democracy?

These are legitimate questions because after studying the Constitution and observing our government at work, it’s easy to become cynical. The Founders’ Constitution we read isn’t the Constitution we live. When it was written, Americans demanded a small federal government that guaranteed their individual inalienable (God-given) rights, as some are stated in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, so they could live freely and responsibly to earn a living and raise families within a Judeo-Christian moral framework. President John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.” A knowledgeable and educated electorate is also necessary.

Now, because America is no longer governed by our Founder’s Constitution with laws derived from God’s law, it’s obvious that America has changed, changed for the worse. This moral decline will change when Americans make choices guided by “What does the Bible say?” and for government, “What does the Founders’ Constitution say?”

America has turned away from God’s providence and embraced demonic slavery buttressed by communism, anti-family sexual perversions, racist identity politics, and cancel culture that is predictively producing chaos and crime. Globalist politicians attempt to strip away our sovereignty while gifting our posterity with a $33 trillion debt. Disastrous U.S. Supreme Court decisions have devastated the Constitution and allowed the administrative state’s governmental behemoth. Politics and politicians’ lust for money and power are overpowering the Constitution’s checks and balances.

We must remember that the Founders’ written Constitution is America’s identity as a “Nation of Laws,” to which we must return, acknowledge, and celebrate, or we’ll continue to flounder and fail. Freedom-loving American citizens hold the Founders’ Constitution in their hearts. The U.S. Constitution is a document of hope whose original meaning we must return for us to survive as a free people.

Donovan “Mark” Quimby
Shenandoah Christian Alliance